Note: Last time Encaf1 chose a medium mystery.
The Case:
Bonnie is found dead on a beach. Upon investigating a nearby motel room, police arrest Clyde, its occupant, for her murder. Among the incriminating evidence are a partially-used bottle of sleeping pills, white paint, and a brush.
The Mystery:
How was Bonnie murdered?
The Solution:
Bonnie and her husband Clyde were vacationing in Myrtle Beach while Bonnie participated in yet another beauty contest. The night before, while Bonnie was in for a facial, Clyde visited the motel bar. There he overheard the upcoming contest’s emcee reciting the names of the contestants who were trying to influence him with sexual favors. Near the top of the list was (you guessed it) Clyde’s wife, Bonnie!
Seething with anger, Clyde returned to the motel room with a tube of white acrylic paint and a bottle of #2 sunscreen. He then secretly painted a “0” after the “2” on the sunscreen’s label.
The next morning, before Bonnie left for her first sunbathing session on the beach, Clyde slipped three sleeping pills into her coffee. He then convinced her to use the “20” sunscreen “to protect her skin.” Bonnie drank the coffee, slathered on the sunscreen, and hit the beach, where she immediately fell fast asleep for several hours. Bonnie died of a third-degree sunburn – and Clyde took the heat.
Hint #1: Clyde took liberties with a label
Hint #2: Clyde was burned up at Bonnie; his revenge burned Bonnie up, too
Note:
You’re free to ask anything, (please keep it to one question a post for simplicity’s sake,) but Jurd can only answer your questions with:
- Yes
- No
- Yes and No
- Irrelevant
- I don’t know
- Rephrase your question
- Define what you mean by…
Disclaimer: Monday Mysteries are culled from the 1993 Milton Bradley game, Crack the Case – but don’t go peeking.
Skinner Co. makes no claim to the intellectual property presented here, we’re just a number of friends playing a board game in a digital living room.
Where the sleeping pills in her system when she died?
Yes
Were pebbles painted white?
No
Did Bonnie have any white paint on her?
No
Is Clyde guilty?
Is the beach relevant?
Is the color of the paint relevant?
Is the bottle painted?
Yes
Yes
Not especially
Yes!
I do ask to keep things to one question a post, however, as things get confusing otherwise.
We’re the pills painted white?
No
Was Bonnie’s cause of death drowning?
No
Was Bonnie wearing a wet suit when she was found?
No
Did Bonnie die of overdosing on the sleeping pills?
She did have a heavy dose in her system, but she didn’t OD
Did she die from poison (not necessarily the medication)?
No
Was Bonnie sunburned?
Yes!
Did Clyde disguise her bottle of sleeping pills so that she would take them and fall asleep on the beach, eventually succumbing to heat stroke?
So close!
The cause of death was heat stroke/third degree sunburns, yes
What role did the paint and brush play?
Did she think the sleeping pills were Tylenol, because the bottle was painted white?
Nope
Were the sleeping pills in the bottle ground up?
Not the ones in the bottle
Was the brush a paintbrush?
Yes
Bonnie liked to paint on the beach. She probably, like all painters, licked her paintbrush to form a point or accidentally drank from the cup the brush was cleaned in. (I have done this myself many times in the past) The sleeping pills were crushed up and mixed in with her white paint.
That is how the pills got into her system. She eventually fell asleep and died of heatstroke/sunburn.
Clever solution, but not this time
Was part of the label on the pill bottle painted over, like the warnings?
So close! The pill bottle was unaltered.
Was Bonnie’s bottle of sunscreen tampered with?
Yes!
How was Bonnie murdered?
Clyde replaced her sunscreen with ground up sleeping pills, then altered the label to ensure that she would pass out long enough for the elements to do her in?
I’m going to call this close enough! Solution posted shortly
Solution is up